LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING
by Julie-Ann S.
**********************************************
"Alright I'll have me one of
them ones too."
Frank Hedley nodded and continued to
fill out the gentleman's order. Being
the only storekeeper in this one horse town had its advantages. He got plenty of busy from travellers who
were passing through on their way to the larger towns that were within a day or
two ride from the small town of
After filling the bag with the
selected candy, he smiled at his latest customer. Frank surmised that this man was about one of
the biggest fellows he had seen in a while.
The fact that the man had a sweet tooth was a bit of a surprise. As he talked with him, Frank got to know what
he was like a little bit more.
"Is that all you want today,
mister?"
Hoss Cartwright grinned. "Yup. I think so.
How much do I owe you?"
Frank told him the amount and waited
for the man to hand over the money. Hoss
did so and looked around the store while he wanted for the storekeeper to give
him his change. When the storekeeper
cleared his throat, Hoss turned back to him and held out his hand.
Hoss frowned as he watched the
storekeeper place the money in his hand.
Something wasn't right here he thought.
He was supposed to get some coins not more notes. "Excuse me, but I think you made a
mistake."
"No, no mistake. I gave you the exact change."
"But I got all notes. That doesn't seem right to me."
Nodding in understanding, Frank
began to explain to Hoss what he had given him.
"I haven't got much in the way of coins and when I run out I use
these things called Fractional Notes.
They're the same as coins except they're notes. If you look carefully you will see one says
fifty cents and the other twenty-five cents."
Hoss looked at the notes carefully
in his hand. Sure enough one of them
said fifty cents and the other twenty-five.
"These are okay to use elsewhere then?" he asked hesistantly.
"They sure are. They're legal currency. In fact the government are still printing
them. Don't tell me you've never seen or
heard of them before. They've been
around since the Civil War."
"No can't say that I have. So you say they're legal. Well I'll be...they sure are
different." Hoss pondered this for
a moment and then an idea came to his mind.
"How about I help you out a little?"
Frank grew wary. "Help me out a little? What do you have in mind?"
After digging into his pockets, Hoss
placed some more coins on the counter.
"Since you said yourself that you don't have much in the way of
coins, how 'bout I exchange the coins I have for some of those Fractional Notes
that you've got there."
The look of surprise on Frank's face
was evident. He shrugged his
shoulders. "Sure why not. Let me just count up what you've got there
and I'll give the same amount back in Fractional Notes."
When Frank had finished exchanging
the coins for notes, he thanked Hoss for his custom and wished him a safe
trip. Hoss took the notes and put them
in his wallet. As he walked out of the
store he placed his wallet back into his inside vest pocket and got on his
horse.
As he rode his horse out of Cross
Roads, Hoss contemplated the journey ahead.
He had nearly a day's ride before he'd get home. That means I should be home in time for
supper tomorrow night he concluded. He
could already taste Hop Sing's cooking. The thought of seeing his family after two
weeks was pleasing him mightly and as well as knowing
that he didn't have to go away again for a fair while was all he needed to
remind him to get home sooner. Humming a
happy tune, he continued on his way home.
**********************************************
"Well Hoss, I think you've well
and truly done it this time. You've been
taken for a ride and then some."
"Awww,
Joe. I'm tellin'
you the truth. These here Fractional
Notes are legal currency. I can use them
in
Joe could see that his brother was
dead serious. "Okay Hoss I believe
you. Even you have to admit that it is
hard to comprehend that these notes are legal tender."
Hoss nodded. "Yeah Joe. I found it hard to believe myself, but when
that storekeeper explained to me that they had been around since the Civil
War..."
"What's been around since the
Civil War?"
Joe whirled around to see father
coming down the stairs. "Hi
Ben examined the note and nodded. "It's been a while since I've seen one
of these. They usually only appear in
towns where coins are hard to get. As
far as I know they still legal tender and the government still prints
them."
"Didn't I just tell you that Joe. Pa just
confirmed what I've been sayin' all this time."
Joe smiled sheepishly. "Ok I'm sorry Hoss for doubting
you."
Placing his arm around Joe's
shoulder, Hoss smiled. "That's ok
little brother. I don't expect you to
know as much as me and Adam."
Going over what Hoss had said to
him, Joe suddenly realised what Hoss had meant and was just about to refute it
when Ben chuckled.
Ben knew that Hoss was only joking
but seeing that Joe was not going to let it pass by that easily, he had decided
to step in. "Speaking of Adam...has
he come home yet?"
After giving Hoss a stern look, Joe
faced his father. "Adam said he'd
be back in time for supper."
Looking at the grandfather clock,
Ben smiled. "That's
fine." He sat down in his large red
leather chair. "Well Hoss, tell me
some more about your trip."
**********************************************
Joe frowned. It looked like Hoss would win this game if he
didn't do something soon to distract him.
As he contemplated what he could say to get Hoss' mind off the game of
checkers they were playing, a smile slowly crept over Joe's face.
"Say Hoss,
have you decided if you are going to keep one of those Fractional Notes as
souvenir or are you going to get rid of them all in
Adam's head jerked up from the book
he was reading. Fractional
Notes? How on earth did Hoss get
his hands on one of those and why haven't I heard about it until now? Adam stared at Hoss, who was just about to
answer Joe's question.
"Well Joe I think I'm might
just keep 'em all or I could spend them all.
I haven't decided yet. Why are
you askin'?"
Hoss had an inkling of what Joe was really up to. He knew he was about to make the winning move
against Joe and anything that Joe said or did was making him mighty suspicious.
"I asked because I don't mind
if I kept one of them for myself. If you
don't want them, I'll gladly take them off your hands." Joe smiled innocently at Hoss.
The innocent smile he was getting
from Joe, was making Hoss even more suspicious of his
brother's motives. Choosing to ignore
Joe, Hoss made his next move on the checker board.
Joe's mouth dropped open. Shoot he thought he had Hoss but it seemed
his older brother had outsmarted him this time.
He felt like crying as he made the only move he could make and watched
helplessly as Hoss finished the game.
Hoss sat up straight with a smug and
satisfied look on his face. He rarely
beat Joe at checkers and every time he did it felt great. The best thing about it was at least he could
tease Joe about it for the next day or so.
The thought of that made him puff his chest up with pleasure.
Adam chuckled as he watched Hoss'
reaction to winning a game. It was
evident that Joe wasn't too happy with the outcome, as his youngest brother had
slumped down into the chair he was sitting in with a grim look on his
face. Now that the game was over, Adam
could ask Hoss about his latest find.
"So now that you two are
finished playing, Hoss could you please tell me about these Fractional Notes
that you've managed to find?"
Hoss shook his head slightly. The euphoric feeling of beating Joe was
getting to him that he had almost missed what Adam was saying. "Yeah sure,
Adam." He then related the
tale of how he came across the notes.
After he had finished he got one of them out of his pocket and handed it
over to Adam.
Flipping the note from back to
front, Adam quietly studied the note.
Hoss was starting to wonder why Adam was taking such an intense interest
in it. Raising both eyebrows, he came to
the conclusion, that Adam must have thought it was very unique. Suddenly Adam got up, a move that was so
quick that it startled Hoss and almost everybody else in the room. They all watched in confusion as Adam made a
dash upstairs.
"Now what was that all
about?" Ben asked in a vain attempt
that someone would know the answer.
Hoss shrugged his shoulders. The confusion was evident on his face. "I dunno know. Must be somethin'
mighty important to get him like that."
Ben nodded in agreement. Ever since Adam had told him about his life
as a Secret Service agent, Ben had come to the realisation that Adam would be
doing a lot of things that didn't make sense to him. He also understood that there were things
that Adam had done and was going to do that he would never know about. Still it was better knowing that at least it
wasn't anything that he could be ashamed of.
Joe, on the other hand, had a
completely different perspective. He had
no doubt that Adam was onto something, which meant that there would be an
investigation of some sort. A smile
slowly crept onto Joe's face. After
finding out about Adam's secret life a few weeks ago, Joe had been itching to
get a chance to show off his own investigative skills to Adam. Now it looked like that opportunity had
come. He looked over to Hoss, who didn't
look that happy.
"What?"
"Joe, I don't like that look
you've got on your face. The last time I
saw that look, I ended up gettin' into a mess of
trouble."
Smirking Joe, leant over and place his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Now how can you say a thing like that,
Hoss. I promise you that you've got
nothing to worry about."
"That's what I'm afraid
of." Hoss grimaced.
Just then, Adam came back downstairs
carrying a book. He took it over to the
dining table and opened it. He then took
the note that Hoss had given him. After
flipping through the pages he came to the one he was looking for. Adam moved his head back and forth from the
book to the note.
After a few minutes, and totally
unaware that his family was taking an intense interest in what he was doing, he
nodded firmly. "Just
as I thought."
"Just as you thought
what?" Hoss stood up and walked
over to Adam.
"Hoss. I hate to tell
this but this Fractional Note is a counterfeit."
"WHAT!" Hoss stared at Adam. "You'd better not be foolin'
me Adam."
"I'm not, Hoss. This book proves it." He showed Hoss the picture of a counterfeit
note that was in the book. "This is
latest copy of "Heath's Infallible Counterfeit Detectors'
. It shows all the things to look
for."
Hoss listened and watched as Adam
explained to him what was wrong with the note.
After the lengthy explanation, Hoss bowed his head.
Adam could see that Hoss, was not too pleased about this outcome but since it
was only one note, it didn't matter, unless...
"Hoss, how many Fractional Notes do you have?"
Digging into his pocket, Hoss pulled
out his wallet and placed all the Fractional Notes he had in possession on the
table. "That's all of them."
After counting them, Adam
continued. "That's quite a few. Nearly five dollars
worth." He picked up each
note and found the tell-tale sign that each one of them were
counterfeit.
Joe shook his head slowly. "They sure did see you coming
Hoss."
"Yep they sure did. How could I have been so foolish."
Ben went up to Hoss. "It's ok. Hoss. It could have happened to anybody."
"Yeah but somehow it always
happens to me
Ben placed his arm around Hoss. "I guess that must be the price you pay
for being a kind-hearted and trusting person."
Adam nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Hoss. Pa's right.
Don't worry about it."
Hoss smiled weakly at Adam and
Ben. "How did you know that there
was somethin' wrong with that note in the first
place?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Adam
smiled. "It's something they teach
us to look out for in our business. The
counterfeiting of twenty-five and fifty cent Fractional Notes is big. The sooner we put a stop to it the
better."
"Are you thinking of putting a
stop to it, Adam?" Joe smiled
innocently.
Adam glanced at Joe. The kid's up to something. "Yes I am Joe, and tomorrow would be a
good time to start. Hoss, in the
morning, we'll head for the place where you got these from."
Sagging, Hoss looked pleadingly
towards Adam. "How 'bout I tell you
where I got them from and you can go by yourself. I only just got back and I was hopin'..."
"No Hoss. I want you to go with me. I need your help."
Knowing that he
had no real choice in the matter Hoss, agreed. Hoss then began warming to the
idea of getting even with the fellow who had duped him.
"So what time are we
leaving?"
Adam raised an eyebrow. "We? Joe, I didn't say anything about you coming
with us. In fact you're not coming with
us at all."
"C'mon
Adam.
It'll be great. The three of us investigating a crime."
Hoss grabbed Joe by the
shoulders. "Oh, no, you don't
Joe. I ain't goin'
on any investigation with you. The last
couple of times that I did, I ended up in jail.
I know with Adam that ain't gonna
happen."
"Well I guess there's your
answer, Joe. This is Hoss' case and if
doesn't want your help who am I to argue."
Adam smirked.
"Alright Adam, I'll stay but
don't think I'm giving up that easily.
There'll be other times."
Joe then quickly glanced over to the book lying on the table. With Adam out of the way, I might be able to
have a good look at that book myself.
"Oh great. I'll look
forward to it." Adam said
sarcastically. He had noticed that Joe
had taken a sudden interest in his book.
He made a mental note to make sure that he hid the book someplace where
Joe wouldn't find it.
Hoss sighed
an audible sigh of relief. He wasn't too
happy about having to go again so soon but at least it was with Adam. He knew that going with his older brother and
not Joe, would mean that the trip would be relatively trouble-free.
***********************************************
"What time is it now,
Adam?"
Adam shifted himself into a more
comfortable sitting position on the cot and leant his head against the
wall. "Ten minutes since the last
time you asked me."
"You think they'll be feedin' us soon?"
Adam put his watch back into his
pocket. "Probably."
"What do you think they'll give
us?"
Sighing, Adam closed his eyes. "I don't know and as long as it isn't
cow fodder, I don't care."
Hoss turned to look back at his
brother. "What makes you think they
might be bringin' us cow fodder?"
"Oh I don't know Hoss. Seems nearly everytime
I go somewhere with you, there's always cow fodder on the menu."
"Now you can't go blamin' me for that Adam."
Opening his eyes, Adam sat up
straight. "No I can't blame you for
that but I can blame you for getting us put in here."
"Now, how was I suppose to know that old fella was the sheriff of this here
town?" Hoss turned back and tried
to stick his face through the gap in the bars of the jail cell the both of them
were currently residing in. "If I hadda known he was the sheriff, I wouldn't of hit him with that chair.
Besides if you hadn't of started that fight in the first place, neither
of us would be here."
Adam looked indignantly at
Hoss. "I started the fight? No, all I was doing was using a little gentle
persuasion on that man at the saloon to get some information out of him."
Hoss turned to face Adam. "If what you were doin'
is called gentle persuasion, then I hate to see what would happen if you
weren't gently persuadin' him. Grabbin' that fella
by his collar sure made his friends angry.
What were you tryin' to do anyways?"
"I told you Hoss, I was trying
to get some information out of him and I would've too if it hadn't been for his
friend grabbing me and punching me in the face.
I suppose that's why you got into it."
"Sure it was. I couldn't let him get away with punchin' ya. I had to do somethin'."
Adam stood up and went over to his
brother. "Well thanks anyways. I guess we're both to blame. I got carried away and lost control."
Placing his hand on Adam's shoulder,
Hoss grinned. "That's okay
Adam. Now I wonder where lunch is?"
Just then the door to the sheriff's
office opened. The sheriff of Cross
Roads walked in carrying a tray with two plates of stew on it. "Alright you two, step away from the
door while I give you your lunch."
Obliging the sheriff, both Adam and
Hoss retreated to the back of the cell and watched as the sheriff opened the
door and placed the tray on the stool near the door. After he had closed the cell door, Adam and
Hoss went up, took a plate each and began eating.
Sheriff Ezekiel Collins, watched as
the two strangers ate. They had only
been in town a day and had caused more trouble than there had been in the whole
of the last year. He was extremely
curious to find out what these two wanted.
When he had finished eating, Adam
thanked the sheriff for the meal. Now
that he had something to eat it was time to get out. "Sheriff? How long are you going to keep us here?"
Ezekiel raised a wiry eyebrow. "It depends on what your business here
in town is?"
Hoss eager to get out as soon as possible, went up to the bars. "You see sheriff, me and my brother are
here to get some counterfeiters."
"Counterfeiters you say. How come you think that we've got some of
those here?"
Before Adam could say anything, Hoss
began to relate the story of how he came into possession of the counterfeit
notes. When he had finished, he smiled
at the sheriff. "Look here
sheriff. I'm real sorry for hittin' you with that chair, if I
had known who you were I wouldn't have done it."
"That's alright son. I understand and I accept your
apology." Looking at both men, he
nodded. "I believe your story as
well. That Frank Hedley has always had a
knack of gettin' mixed up in no good dealings. The thing is, what
were you two going to do when you got information you were looking for?"
Hoss grinned smugly. "Oh that's easy. My brother Adam here is a Secret Service
agent. He would've just hauled them off
to Federal prison."
"Secret
Service?
You don't say?" Ezekiel
glanced over at the other man, who was now rubbing the bridge of nose.
Hoss knew he had done something
wrong, when he turned around and saw Adam's reaction. Realising that he shouldn't of mentioned the Secret Service part, he smiled
apologetically. "I'm sorry Adam, I know you told us not to say anythin'. It kinda slipped out."
Adam sighed. "It's alright Hoss. What's done is done." Going over to his jacket which was lying on
the cot, Adam pulled out his wallet.
Taking a piece of paper out, he walked back over to where the sheriff
was and handed him the paper through the bars.
After perusing the piece of paper he
had been given and satisfied that it was genuine, he handed it back to the
man. "I'm going to let you two out
but only one condition."
"What's that?" Adam asked dryly.
"That you let me join you. I know everybody in this town so I figure I
can help you out."
Adam nodded once. "Sounds reasonable to
me. We'll be able to act under
your authority." He paused. "By the way, the part about me being in
the Secret Service goes no further than here."
"You can count on me to keep
quiet about that. Now let's see about
getting you two out of there."
**********************************************
Ezekiel Collins nodded his
head. He was definitely getting excited
at the prospect of doing some real law work for a change. Cross Roads was a dull town and nothing much
ever happened here. The
only work around was rounding up the odd drunk and keeping them in the cell
overnight. Now that these two
fellows had shown, it confirmed his suspicions that he had been having about
Frank Hedley for some time now.
The three of them were standing on
the landing in front of the sheriff's office, their attention fixed on Hedley's
store that was situated down the street to the right. It was late afternoon and most of the people
that were around had already gone home and the town's
only saloon was just starting to come to life.
Adam was beginning to wonder if the
person they were waiting was ever going to turn up. Sheriff Collins had told him that getting
information directly from Hedley himself would be harder than getting blood out
of a rock and Adam had acknowledged that.
The most likely person would be someone who knew Hedley and his business
personally.
Hoss tapped Adam on the
shoulder. "I reckon that's her
now." He pointed to a young woman
walking down the street towards the store.
"Yep it's her alright. Viola Hedley. Frank's sister." Nodding, Ezekiel turned to Adam and
Hoss. "She's a real nice, young,
trusting thing. I reckon with a bit of
sweet talk, she would tell a man just about anything. Now I would do it myself but she knows me and
I'm too old anyhow."
Seeing what Ezekiel was hinting at,
Hoss thought for a moment. "Yep I
can see what you're gettin' at Zeke. Now I could do it but I just don't have the
know-how." Placing his arm around
Adam's shoulders, Hoss grinned.
"Now, you big brother, you do have the know-how. I've seen how all those girls go weak at the
knees by you just smilin' at them. So I guess it's all up to you."
"Hmm...well
I suppose if I must." Adam
smirked. He had been watching and
studying Viola Hedley as she walked down the street. Originally he had been hoping that it wasn't
going to be him getting the information out of Hedley's sister, but now upon
seeing her for himself, the idea was rather
appealing. She had the kind of figure he
liked on his women and from what he could tell she was rather pretty as
well. He had already begun imagining
what it would be like to touch her auburn coloured hair, when Hoss spoke up.
"So you'll do it then?" Ezekiel asked.
"Yeah I'll do it." Straightening up, Adam smiled at Ezekiel and
gave a quick wink to his brother.
"Are you sure you saw Hedley ride out earlier?"
Ezekiel cocked his head to the
right. "Yep sure
enough. When he goes out on his daily
rides, he don't come back till well after dark."
"Alright
then.
I may as well get started now."
Walking off the landing and onto the street, he slowly turned back to
the other two men. "This shouldn't
take too long. Wait here for me. I should be back in about a
hour or so." He then proceeded down
the street towards Hedley's general store.
**********************************************
Hoss glanced up at the clock in the
sheriff's office and frowned. It had
been well over two hours since Adam had set off to get some information out of
Viola Hedley. He knew that Adam could
look after himself but still not hearing from his brother, well and truly after
the time that he said he would be back by was beginning to worry him.
"Now don't go worrying yourself
over your brother. I'd say he's probably
gone well over and above the call of duty.
He's most likely found a lot of things to talk to Miss Hedley
about." Ezekiel smiled
knowingly. "It's your move,
sonny."
"Yeah you're probably
right." Hoss grinned. Both Adam and Joe had a way with women, that he wished sometimes he could have. That Viola Hedley looked mighty pretty and so
it figured that Adam would've stayed longer than necessary. Satisfied with that thought, Hoss turned his
attention back to the game of checkers he was playing with Ezekiel.
After contemplating the move he was
going to make, Hoss moved the piece he had chosen. As he waited for Ezekiel to make the next
move, the door to the sheriff's office slammed wide open. Hoss whipped around to see who it was and
instantly a look of shock and disbelief crept onto his face. "Adam?"
He got up and went over to his
brother, who was staggering weakly into the room. Adam grabbed Hoss by the shoulders and would
have collapsed if Hoss hadn't of been there to grab hold of him. Hoss gently guided Adam to a chair and helped
down onto it.
Adam motioned that he wanted a drink
and Ezekiel got a glass of water for him.
Hoss carefully studied his brother as he sat there drinking. He could see that Adam's shirt had been torn
and that most of the buttons were missing.
The shirt was hanging out as if it had been ripped out of his
pants. What worried Hoss the most, was the look of fear on his brother's face.
Hoss squatted down. "Dang Adam. What happened? You look like you've gone ten rounds with a
grizzly."
Adam stared at Hoss. "I wish it was a grizzly."
Ezekiel rubbed his chin. "So who was it that beat you up like that. Some no good
thieves I bet."
Shaking his head, Adam closed
eyes. "No it wasn't anything like
that it." He paused for a
moment. "It was Viola Hedley."
Standing up straight, Hoss placed
his hands on his hips. "Aww, c'mon Adam. Stop joshin' and
just tell the truth."
"Does it look like I'm joking
to you? That woman..." Adam looked at his empty glass. "Sheriff, you got anything that's
stronger than water?"
"Sure I have." Ezekiel went over to the cupboard and took
out a bottle of whiskey and handed it over to Adam. "Viola Hedley, who
would've thought it."
Opening up the whiskey bottle, Adam
poured some of the amber liquid into his glass.
After pouring a more than generous amount he placed the bottle on the
table. "Well I didn't think it." He picked up the glass and began drinking the
contents.
Confusion was now gaining a hold on
Hoss. He couldn't understand what had
happened. "Adam, I just don't
understand how that young thing could make you look that plum scared."
"Hoss,
let me put it this way." Adam took
a deep breath. He was still trying to
regain what was left of his senses.
"Remember Abigail Jones?"
Abigail Jones? Hoss eyes widened at the memory. "Surely not again,
Adam."
Adam nodded slowly. "Compared to Viola Hedley, Abigail Jones
was a pussycat."
"Oh Lordy. I'm real sorry Adam."
Scratching his head, Ezekiel had no
idea what they were talking about.
"Did you get the information you were looking for?"
By now Adam, had finished of his
glass of whiskey and was pouring another one.
"Yeah I got the information we needed."
Eziekel smiled.
"That's good and dandy."
After Adam had placed the bottle of whiskey back on the table, he took
it and put it back in the cupboard.
"I think that you've had enough.
Time we went and had some dinner anyhow.
I'm getting powerfully hungry."
The mention of food made Hoss'
stomach grumble. "Now that sounds
like a fine idea to me. How 'bout you Adam?"
"No...I'm afraid I've lost my
appetite. You two go ahead. I'll stay here and rest a little." Adam looked longingly over towards the
cupboard. The thought of finishing off
that bottle of whiskey was beginning to appeal to him greatly.
"That's not what I meant, young
fella. You're coming with us." Ezekiel could see where Adam was looking and
he knew what the man was planning.
"Besides I ain't letting you stay here by yourself. If what you implying about Viola Hedley is
true, I have no doubt she will come here looking for you and if she finds you
here...well there will be no-one around to help you. After all the local
sheriff is the one who usually knows who's in town and who isn't."
Adam sprang up quickly. "You've got a point, Sheriff. I say let's leave right now. I can hide out in a room at the hotel."
Hoss smirked. Knowing that Adam was alright, he now starting
to see the lighter side of what had happened.
"By the way Adam, I think you better change your shirt. I don't want to be pickin'
up any girls off the floor after they see your..." Hoss pointed at Adam chest.
Adam glanced downwards and realised
what Hoss was getting at. He
grimaced. "Yeah I see what you
mean." He was still trying to come
to grips with how he had loss control of the situation with Viola so
quickly. At the start she seemed very
nice and receptive to his compliments.
During the first fifteen minutes, he had been wanting
to kiss her and when the time came to do so, he did. It was then the tables had turned on
him. For nearly two hours he had been
chased and cornered by Viola on a number of occassions. The thought of what had occured
was still causing him to shudder in fear.
As they went out of the office, Adam cautiously
looked all around. Satisfied that Viola
was nowhere to be seen, he walked out but kept in close contact with Hoss and
Ezekiel the entire time just in case.
**********************************************
The next morning, Hoss and Adam had
started going over what they would do next.
After a good night's rest, Adam was beginning to feel a bit better about
everything that had occurred the previous day.
He had made up his mind that in order to avoid Viola Hedley he should
probably stay as much as possible in the hotel room he and Hoss were sharing
until Frank Hedley left for his daily rendezvous. Sitting on his bed and looking across to
Hoss, who was still lying in his own bed, he smiled. "Well Hoss I think now that we have
sorted out what we are going to do, it's time we had some breakfast."
Hoss immediately vaulted out from
under his sheets and quickly sat up. "Yup. I think
that it is."
Adam grinned. He got up and began to get dressed. As he was just about to put on his shirt, he
glanced at Hoss, who was staring intensely at him. "What's the matter?"
"Umm Adam...I think you better
take a look in that there mirror."
Hoss pointed to the mirror that was on the nearby dresser.
Forgetting his shirt for the moment
and throwing it on the bed, Adam walked over to the mirror and looked into
it. "Oh great! That's just great!"
Immediately Adam began inspecting
the mark that had formed on his neck near where it met his shoulder. After making sure that it wasn't a patch of
dirt, Adam
groaned and closed his eyes.
Holding back his laughter, Hoss went
over to Adam. "Looks like she's
gone and done branded you Adam. It's a
big 'un ain't it."
Adam sneered at Hoss. "That's it then. I'm definitely not moving from this room
until it's time to go. You can get them
to bring my meals up to me."
"Aww c'mon Adam. It ain't all that
bad." Hoss bit his lip. It was getting harder by the minute not to
burst out laughing.
"It will be days before this
thing disappears and my shirts won't cover it all." As if to prove the point, Adam went over and
put on his shirt. "See what I mean?"
"Yeah I see what you mean. It does sorta look
like it's climbin' up your neck a fair way."
Hoss could still see some of the mark above the collar of Adam's black
shirt. "Shame it wasn't any darker,
then it would blend in with your shirt."
The look that Hoss got from Adam in
that instance, broke any resolve he had of holding
back his laughter. Hoss began to laugh
loud and long. "I'm sorry
Adam." he said in between laughs, "It's just that you being such a
ladies man and all..."
"Ok Hoss I get the
picture. No need to rub in
it." Adam was trying to keep his
emotions under control but the tone in his voice told otherwise. "Just go downstairs and have your
breakfast and don't forget to get them to bring something up here." He was sure he could feel his face going red
from the embarassment he was suffering.
By the time Hoss had finished
dressing, his laughter had died down considerably. Seeing his brother with a welt the size of at
least two checker pieces sitting side by side was something he had never
expected to see and now that he had, well it was just too funny for words. As he opened the door to leave, Hoss turned
to look at Adam, and for a moment contemplated getting one last dig in. Deciding that it was better not too, he
grinned widely at his brother, who just glared at him.
After leaving the room, Hoss began
to wonder what Joe would make of the situation, especially if they got home
before that mark disappeared. He
chuckled. It looked like there was going
to be some mighty interesting times ahead.
**********************************************
Adam stretched his arms and got
up. He walked over to the window and
gazed out. It was late afternoon and the
time that Frank Hedley was due to leave on his daily ride. If he hadn't left already, he soon would
be. Going back to the bed, Adam picked
up his gun and holster and put them on.
He was glad that something was at last happening. He had spent the entire day couped up in this
room with nothing much to do but it was that or run the risk of being seen and
cornered by her again. Meeting Viola
again was something he did not want to do so soon after last night. In fact he'd rather avoid it altogether.
Hoss entered the room and smiled at
his brother. "Looks like you're
ready to go. Good. Zeke says Hedley is over at the livery stable
saddlin' up right now."
"Let's head over to the
sheriff's office and wait until Frank leaves town. We'll give him a few minutes headstart and then we start following."
"That's fine by me." Hoss thought for a moment. "Which way are we leavin'?"
"We're leaving by the back way." Adam stated firmly.
Smirking Hoss, nodded once. "That's what I figured."
As they were leaving, Hoss stopped
abruptly. "Hang a minute Adam. What if she's waitin' out back for you."
Adam's eyes opened wide. "I don't want think about it
Hoss." He stopped. Suddenly he was unsure if he had made the
right decision to leave by the back door.
His whole body began to tense up.
He still hadn't fully recovered from his last encounter with her. "You don't suppose she is?"
"Nah she isn't." Hoss grinned at Adam's discomfort. "I saw her enter her brother's store a
little while ago. I think you're safe
for the time bein'."
Relaxing, Adam smiled weakly and
thanked God that he would be spared any further attention from Viola. With any luck they could be finished tonight
and be out of town by
Hoss glanced at Adam and shook his
head slightly. It was so strange seeing
Adam plum scared of a mere girl. Whatever
that girl did to Adam must have rattled his cage a whole heap. He wondered if he would ever hear the whole
story of what had happened.
As they neared the sheriff's office,
Hoss' curiousity got the better of him. "Hey Adam. You gonna tell me
about what happened yesterday?"
"I don't really want to talk
about it Hoss. All I feel like telling
you is that I was in a situation that I had no control over."
"Ahh..." Hoss was now beginning to understand what
Adam was going through. Adam was the take
charge kind of fella in most situations.
He had always assumed that this was the case where women were concerned
too. His oldest brother was the type to
make advances to women and not have women make advances towards him. That's why he made that reference to Abigail
Jones. Well, one thing was certain at
this point in time, he was extremely glad that it was Adam and not him who had
had to face Viola Hedley.
**********************************************
Frank Hedley stifled a yawn. Every day he had to wait and he was getting a
bit sick of it. His contact always took
his sweet time in arriving and then usually didn't have all that much to
say. All Matthews wanted was his share
of the day's takings. Frank was
seriously thinking about changing the deal he had with the man. After all it was he who risked getting caught
and not his tardy partner, Seymour Matthews.
A rustle in a nearby bush, caught
Frank's attention. He whirled around
only to see that it was Matthews. Frank
was still very much wary of the six foot tall man and even though he was of
average build, Frank knew that Matthews was a force to be reckoned with.
"'Bout time you got here
Matthews grunted. There was no love lost between them and he
wasn't about to rectify the situation.
Hedley was just another pawn in his game and one day soon he aimed to
take him out of it. For now he needed
Hedley and he was therefore willing to put up with any rot he got from him.
"Ok Hedley, where's me
cash?"
Frank went over to his horse and
opened up his saddlebag. Taking a small
wad of notes out, he casually walked back to Matthews and thrusted
them into the waiting man's hands.
Matthews grinned and nodded
cordially to Hedley. As he was about
turn to leave, Hedley grabbed his arm.
"I'm not finished yet
"You will be if you don't let
go of my arm." Matthews said
angrily.
Knowing a threat when he heard it,
Frank quickly let go. "I need some
more scripts."
"What do you mean you need
more? The last lot I gave you should've
lasted you a few weeks."
"Well they didn't. Some of them were fairly bad to begin with
and I was able to unload a few more than I had planned on."
Raising both eyebrows, Matthews looked
questionably at Hedley. "Can't help
there being bad ones. You get what
you're given and so you got to expect to have the odd bad one in the bunch. What I want to know is how you got rid of so
many in such a short time."
Grinning Frank continued. "I had a piece of good luck. Had some stranger come in and exchange a
whole pile of coins for the notes."
Looking sceptically at Hedley,
Matthews frowned. "I find that hard
to believe. How do I know that you're
not fooling me."
"Believe it
"Alright then...but if I find
out that you're duping me you'll know what will happen." He took his saddlebag off his shoulder. Opening it, he placed the small wad of notes
inside and deftly pulled out a fresh pile of script.
Frank took the notes and beginning
inspecting them immediately as it was still light enough to see. When he had finished he nodded once. "Yeah they look good to me. Now that we have concluded business for the
day, I'll being going."
"Don't forget same time
tomorrow, Hedley."
"I won't." Frank snarled at Matthews.
"Just a
minute, gentlemen. I think neither of you are going
anywhere."
Matthews and Hedley both twirled
around quickly to find that they were being aimed at by a man in black holding
a gun.
"What the heck!" Matthews shouted angrily and looked at
Frank. Whacking Frank on the back of the
head he yelled. "You
stupid idiot. You were
followed."
Rubbing the back of his head with
his right hand, he stared in disbelief at the man with the gun. "How was I to know that I was being followed. This is the
first time its happened."
Adam grinned. "Well I guess there's a first time for
everything then." Motioning with
his free hand he called Ezekiel over. "Sheriff
if you'll do the honours."
"You betcha
I will." Ezekiel went over to the
two men. "Okay gents if you would
like to drop what you have in your hands and place your hands behind your head
I would be greatly obliged."
Hedley and Matthews glared at each
other as they did what the sheriff told them to do. As Ezekiel was searching Hedley, Matthews began
formulating a plan of attack.
"I wouldn't if I were you
Seymour."
Turning to face the stranger,
Matthews could tell that the man knew what he was thinking. As he studied the stranger intently for a few
moments, Matthews could tell that this fellow wasn't one to tangle with. It was better to live and fight another day
then to make a foolish move right now.
Matthews' whole body slumped in resignation.
When Ezekiel had finished his search
of Hedley, he thanked Frank for his co-operation and proceeded to search
Matthews.
Frank was sweating profusely by
now. The indignation of being searched
and the thought of what was going to happen to him was
playing havoc with his mind. He didn't
relish the idea of spending the next few years in prison. With that in mind, Frank decided to make a
run for it.
Not watching where he was going,
Hedley ran straight into Hoss. Hoss then
took hold of the smaller man's jacket lapels and thrusted
him into the air. Hoss glared angrily
upwards at Frank. "So I'm a sucker
am I? Well for that remark I oughta throw you to the ground and..."
"Hoss will
you please let him down."
"Alright Adam if you
insist." Hoss let go of Frank's
jacket and the man fell onto the ground in a heap.
Adam rolled his eyes. "You should've let him down
gently."
"Well Adam if you wanted it
gentle like you shoulda said so." Hoss looked down at Hedley, who had recovered
quickly from his fall and was now trying to crawl away. "Oh no you don't" Hoss grabbed the back of Frank's
jacket and pushed him to the ground with his foot.
Shaking his head, Adam returned his
attention to Ezekiel and Matthews. He
could see that Ezekiel had begun tying Matthews hands
together and knowing that Hedley wasn't going anywhere, Adam placed his gun
back in the holster. PIcking
up Matthews' discarded saddlebag, Adam opened it and found the plates that the
man had used to make the counterfeit notes.
He smiled. It was pleasing to
think that the job was done. Now all
there was left to do was to escort the apprehended gentlemen back to the jail
cell and notify the
**********************************************
"Frank I can't believe that
father and mother raised you up to be so stupid."
"Now look here Viola. There's no need for talk like that."
"No need! Why Frank Hedley if it weren't for those
bars, I...I'd..."
Ezekiel placed his hand on Viola's
arm. "Now Miss Viola. Calm down.
Frank's gonna pay for what he's done."
Viola cocked her head to look at the
sheriff's hand on her arm. Taking a deep
breath, she nodded slowly. "Yes
sheriff. Thankyou." Gazing at her brother, she smiled
grimly. "Well Frank, I'll try to
come by again before the
"Yeah I know." He watched as his sister bade him farewell
and was taken outside by the sheriff. He
went over to his cot and sat down.
Placing his face in his hands he began to contemplate his miserable
future.
Outside the sheriff's office, Viola
started to apologise for her brother.
"I'm sorry Sheriff Collins for what my brother did. I plan to make restitution immediately."
"There's no need for that Miss
Viola. Like I said before Frank will pay
for what he done."
"Yes I suppose he
will." Viola looked out onto the
street. She paused for a moment as she
watched a large man approach the office.
Hoss could see that Viola Hedley was
watching him as he neared the office. He
once again pondered how such a sweet lookin' lady
like her could be as aggressive as Adam had indicated she was.
Tipping his hat at her, he
smiled. "Ma'am."
Tilting her head in acknowledgement,
Viola faced the sheriff. "Sheriff I
was wondering. Have you seen a tall
stranger about town lately? He has black
hair and is extremely handsome."
Ezekiel quickly glanced at Hoss, who
just looked up in the air. "No Miss
Viola, I can't say that I have. The only
stranger I've seen recently is that man there." He pointed casually at Hoss.
Hoss gave her a silly grin and
shuffled his feet. Viola studied the man
in front of her. After a few moments,
she went over to Hoss. "Hmm...well maybe he's still in town somewhere. I think I might just go over to the hotel and
see if he is there." She placed her
hand on Hoss' right arm. "You
haven't seen him have you?"
Shaking his head, violently, Hoss
told her that he hadn't. Satisfied with
his response, she smiled at him.
"Well, if I don't find him...I'll keep you in mind." She ran her hand slowly down Hoss' arm. She then winked and smiled seductively at
him.
Hoss gulped a few times and tugged
at his collar. As he watched her leave,
he thanked his lucky stars that he'd been long gone before she would come after
him.
Ezekiel chuckled. "That Viola is something ain't
she?"
"Why do I have the feelin' that I was just sized up like a bit of prime beef."
Ezekiel laughed loudly. "Because you were
sonny. Because
you were."
The door to the sheriff's office opened
and Adam poked his head out. "She
gone I take it."
"Yep she's gone for the time
being but she'll be back. If not for you, then for your brother." Ezekiel grinned widely.
Adam bewildered by this statement,
stared at Hoss, who was now looking a bit fearful at the thought of Viola
coming back for him. "I think it's
time we were headed for home Adam."
"I couldn't agree with you more
Hoss. The horses are out the back and
saddled up." Going over to Ezekiel,
Adam held out his hand. "Well
old-timer I guess this is good-bye. The
Grabbing Adam's hand and firmly
shaking it, Ezekiel chuckled. "It's
been a pleasure young man. I haven't had
this much fun in ages. Shame you two
couldn't stick around. It would be very
interesting to see what might happen."
Hoss went over to Ezekiel and shook
his hands. "No thanks Zeke. I'd rather be leavin'
now. Take care."
The two of them left Sheriff Ezekiel
Collins on the landing and went out to the back of the office. Getting on their horses, as they started to
ride out of town, Adam looked at Hoss. "By the way not a word of this to Joe, especially about
Viola."
Hoss raised both eyebrows at
Adam. "Ok Adam. What should I say if he asks 'bout that mark
on your neck?"
Adam scowled. "You say nothing Hoss. Absolutely nothing."
THE END
DECEMBER 2003